Love of the Wild
Archie P. McKishnie
Paperback
(Independently published, Sept. 13, 2019)
The hazy October sunlight sifted through the trees and lay, here and there, golden bits of carpet on the mossy woodland. A glossy black squirrel paused on one of these splashes of sunlight, and, sitting erect, preened his long fur; then as the harsh scolding of a red squirrel fell on his ears he sank on all fours again, and bounded into the heavy shadows of the wood. A pair of pursuing red squirrels sprang from an opposite grove and with shrill chidings crossed the open to the snake fence. By taking this fence they might intercept the quarryâs flight, their object being to make short work of the black, whom they hated with an hereditary hatred harking back to the dim past.In and out they flashed, their yellow-red bodies painting zigzag streaks of gold upon the forest background of green. Suddenly they halted and with tails slashing angrily poured out a tirade of abuse upon the human frustrator of their designs.He stood leaning against the fence, his young face moody, his eyes focused somberly on the new schoolhouse with its unpainted boards, hanging to the face of the hill across the creek. He turned now, his tall form erect, accusation in his glance. Nineteen years among the wild of the wild had schooled him in the knowledge of signs such as that which confronted him, and which were forerunners of the tragedies so numerous in the wooded fastness. âSo you would, eh?â he grated, âyou little murderers, you.âAt the sound of his voice the male squirrel, less courageous than his mate, sprang to earth and scurried up a scraggy beech. The female, not to be cheated out of her wicked pleasure, attempted the old ruse of dropping to the bottom rail of the fence and darting past the boy in this way. But the boy had learned the ways of squirrels as he had learned the ways of all the things of the wild, and as the little animal sprang forward his tall body bent earthward. A muffled squeal came from the buckskin cap he held in his hand, and when he arose his brown fingers nipped the animal securely by the back of its neck.âSo itâs you whoâve been drivinâ the black squirrels out of the bush?â he said. âWell, you wonât drive any more out, I guess. Youâve had your last run except the one me and pupâll give you, and that wonât be a very long one. Here, Joe,â he called, âcome here, old feller; Iâve got something for you.âFrom the far end of a long fallow came loping a gaunt Irish setter. He hurled his shaggy form upward, but the boy held the prize out of his reach.âCome into the clearinâ and weâll have a chase, pup,â he said. They passed over to an open spot in the wood and the boy turned the captive about so that it faced him.âNow, Joe,â he said, âIâll justâââ He broke off and stood gazing at the animal which had ceased to struggle and now hung passive, its little heart throbbing under its white breast-fur.âJoe,â whispered the boy, âsheâs got young âuns somewhere.âThe dog sprawled on the warm moss and rolled over and over.âI reckon some little codgersâll be missinâ their mammy, pup.âJoe cocked his ears and looked up at his master.âTheyâll be lookinâ to see her maybe by now,âbut,â savagely, âainât never goinâ to see her no more.âThe squirrel twisted and attempted to dig its long yellow teeth into the hand that held it prisoner.âSheâs just like everythinâ else that has babies,â frowned the lad, âsavage and foolish. Here, you,â he called to the dog, âwhere are you goinâ, Joe?âThe setter was trotting slowly away.âWhatâs got into him, I wonder,â muttered the young man; ânever knowed Joe to run away from sport before, unless it was that time the old she-âcoon slashed his nose, after weâd cut down her tree and found her babies.âOnce more he turned the animal about and looked into its big soft eyes.